1980 Dallas Cowboys season

NFL team season November 2022 March 2026 Dallas Cowboys 1980 12–4 2nd NFC East Tom Landry Dan Reeves Ernie Stautner Tex Schramm Clint Murchison, Jr. Texas Stadium Won Wild Card Playoffs(vs. Rams) 34–13Won Divisional Playoffs(at Falcons) 30–27Lost NFC Championship(at Eagles) 7–20 Cowboys seasons thumb|right|The Cowboys playing the Eagles in the 1980 NFC Championship Game The 1980 Dallas Cowboys season was their 21st in the league. The team improved to 12-4 following Roger Staubach's retirement after the 1979 season.1980 Dallas Cowboys They qualified for the 1980 NFL postseason as an NFC Wild Card, yet ultimately lost in the Conference Championship game. Going into the final week of the season, Dallas (11–4) played Philadelphia (12–3) at Texas Stadium. Under that season's NFL tiebreakers, Dallas had to beat the Eagles by 25 points or greater to win the NFC East, entering the NFC postseason as the number two seed while Philadelphia would be a wildcard team. The Eagles win NFC East should the Cowboys lose, tie or win by 24 points or fewer. Dallas was leading the final regular season game 35–10 in the fourth quarter; however, the Eagles scored 17 unanswered points to pull within 35–27. Dallas had to play an extra week in the Wild Card round and as visitors in the following week road game in Atlanta in the Divisional Round. Dallas lost at Philadelphia in the NFC Championship Game. Offseason NFL draft 1980 NFL draft 1980 Dallas Cowboys 3 78 Bill Roe LB Colorado no yes 3 80 James Jones RB Mississippi State no yes 4 105 Kurt Petersen OG Missouri no yes 5 133 Gary Hogeboom QB Central Michigan no yes 6 162 Timmy Newsome FB Winston-Salem State no yes 7 189 Lester Brown RB Clemson no no 8 216 Larry Savage LB Michigan State no no 9 246 Jackie Flowers WR Florida State no no 10 273 Matthew Teague LB Prairie View A&M no no 11 300 Gary Padjen LB Arizona State no no 12 330 Norm Wells DE Northwestern no yes Undrafted free agents + 1980 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeMike BrockOffensive LineAlabamaDextor ClinkscaleSafetySouth Carolina StateRoy DeanWide receiverAlabamaAnthony DickersonLinebackerSMUMike GlennOffensive LineUtah StateRichard GrimmettOffensive tackleIllinoisJim HimicOffensive LineWest VirginiaJay HowlettDefensive LineHoly CrossKevin KellyOffensive LineDukeBill LeerOffensive LineColorado StateMike MancusoQuarterbackNebraska–OmahaDon SmerekDefensive endNevadaRoosevelt SmithRunning backMichiganDoug WoodwardQuarterbackPace Roster Dallas Cowboys 1980 roster Quarterbacks 18 Glenn Carano 14 Gary Hogeboom 11 Danny White P Running backs 33 Tony Dorsett 23 James Jones 44 Robert Newhouse 30 Timmy Newsome 26 Preston Pearson 20 Ron Springs Wide receivers 80 Tony Hill 86 Butch Johnson 88 Drew Pearson Tight ends 84 Doug Cosbie 89 Billy Joe DuPree 87 Jay Saldi Offensive linemen 61 Jim Cooper T 67 Pat Donovan T 62 John Fitzgerald C 71 Andy Frederick T 65 Kurt Petersen G 64 Tom Rafferty G 68 Herbert Scott G 52 Robert Shaw C Defensive linemen 76 Larry Bethea DT 63 Larry Cole DT 78 John Dutton DT 72 Ed Jones DE 79 Harvey Martin DE 77 Bruce Thornton DE 54 Randy White DTLinebackers 53 Bob Breunig MLB 59 Guy Brown OLB 51 Anthony Dickerson OLB 58 Mike Hegman OLB 57 Bruce Huther MLB 50 D. D. Lewis OLB 56 Bill Roe OLB Defensive backs 31 Benny Barnes CB 47 Dextor Clinkscale SS 42 Randy Hughes FS 34 Aaron Mitchell CB 32 Dennis Thurman FS 41 Charlie Waters SS 45 Steve Wilson CB Special teams  1 Rafael Septién KReserve lists 75 Rich Grimmett T (IR) 10px 22 Wade Manning CB (IR) 10px 60 Don Smerek DE (IR) 10px 66 Norm Wells G (IR) 10px Rookies in italics 45 active, 4 inactive Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Game Site Attendance Recap 1 September 8, 1980 at Washington Redskins W 17–3 1–0 RFK Stadium 55,045 Recap 2 September 14 at Denver Broncos L 20–41 1–1 Mile High Stadium 74,919 Recap 3 September 21 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 28–17 2–1 Texas Stadium 62,750 Recap 4 September 28 at Green Bay Packers W 28–7 3–1 Milwaukee County Stadium 54,776 Recap 5 October 5 New York Giants W 24–3 4–1 Texas Stadium 59,126 Recap 6 October 12 San Francisco 49ers W 59–14 5–1 Texas Stadium 63,399 Recap 7 October 19 at Philadelphia Eagles L 10–17 5–2 Veterans Stadium 70,696 Recap 8 October 26 San Diego Chargers W 42–31 6–2 Texas Stadium 60,639 Recap 9 November 2 at St. Louis Cardinals W 27–24 7–2 Busch Memorial Stadium 50,701 Recap 10 November 9 at New York Giants L 35–38 7–3 Giants Stadium 68,343 Recap 11 November 16 St. Louis Cardinals W 31–21 8–3 Texas Stadium 52,567 Recap 12 November 23 Washington Redskins W 14–10 9–3 Texas Stadium 58,809 Recap 13 November 27 Seattle Seahawks W 51–7 10–3 Texas Stadium 57,540 Recap 14 December 7 at Oakland Raiders W 19–13 11–3 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 53,194 Recap 15 December 15, 1980 at Los Angeles Rams L 14–38 11–4 Anaheim Stadium 65,154 Recap 16 December 21 Philadelphia Eagles W 35–27 12–4 Texas Stadium 62,548 Recap Division opponents are in bold text Game summaries Week 1 at Redskins 1980 Washington Redskins season Dallas Cowboys 1980 2; text-align:center collapsed Week One: Dallas Cowboys (0–0) at Washington Redskins (0–0) September 8 Monday 9:00 p.m. EST Cowboys 7 3 0 7 Redskins 0 0 0 3 RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C. 55,045 78 F C Gene Barth ABC Frank Gifford, Don Meredith, and Howard Cosell Box Score First quarter DAL – Tony Dorsett 6-yard run (Rafael Septién kick). Cowboys 7–0. Drive: Second quarter DAL – Rafael Septién 19-yard field goal. Cowboys 10–0. Drive: Third quarter No scoring Fourth quarter WSH – Mark Moseley 45-yard field goal. Cowboys 10–3. Drive: DAL – Ron Springs 4-yard run (Rafael Septién kick). Cowboys 17–3. Drive: Top passers DAL – Danny White – 10/18, 107 yards, 2 INT WSH – Joe Theismann – 19/34, 190 yards, INT Top rushers DAL – Tony Dorsett – 17 rushes, 66 yards, TD WSH – Clarence Harmon – 7 rushes, 39 yards Top receivers DAL – Tony Hill – 3 receptions, 69 yards WSH – Clarence Harmon – 7 receptions, 67 yards Week 2 Cowboys 0 10 3 7 Broncos 7 17 14 3 September 14, 1980 Mile High Stadium 4:00 p.m. EST 74,919 Sunny; 67 F Jerry Markbreit Lindsey Nelson and Sonny Jurgensen CBS Week 3 Bucs 7 10 0 0 Cowboys 7 7 7 7 Sunday Sept 21, 1980 Texas Stadium 4:00 p.m. EST Sunny; 86 F Chuck Heberling Pat Summerall and Tom Brookshier CBS Week 4 Cowboys 7 7 7 7 Packers 0 7 0 0 Sunday Sept 28, 1980 Milwaukee County Stadium 1:00 p.m. EST 55 F; Wind 9 mph on Fred Silva Week 5 Giants 0 0 0 3 Cowboys 3 14 0 7 Sunday Oct 5, 1980 Texas Stadium 4:00 p.m. EST 69 F Week 6 49ers 0 7 0 7 Cowboys 14 24 14 7 Sunday Oct 12, 1980 Texas Stadium 2:00 p.m. EST Sunny; 86 F Pat Haggerty Frank Glieber and Roger Staubach CBS Week 7 Cowboys 7 3 0 0 Eagles 0 10 0 7 October 19 Veterans Stadium 1:00 p.m. EST 70,696 Sunny; 69 F Cal Lepore Pat Summerall and Tom Brookshier CBS yes Q1 DAL Hegman recovered fumble in end zone (Septién kick) DAL 7–0 Q2 PHI Franklin 35 yard field goal DAL 7–3 Q2 PHI Carmichael 5 yard pass from Jaworski (Franklin kick) PHI 10–7 Q2 DAL Septién 33 yard field goal Tie 10–10 Q4 PHI Smith 15 yard pass from Jaworski (Franklin kick) PHI 17–10 yes Week 8 Chargers 3 21 0 7 Cowboys 7 7 21 7 Sunday Oct 26, 1980 Texas Stadium 9:00 p.m. EST Clear; 55 F Dick Jorgensen Frank Gifford, Howard Cosell, and Don Meredith ABC Week 9 Cowboys 0 10 3 14 Cardinals 7 3 7 7 Sunday Nov 2, 1980 Civic Center Busch Memorial Stadium 2:00 p.m. EST Clear; 49 F, wind 12 mph on Frank Glieber and Roger Staubach CBS Week 10 Cowboys 7 14 14 0 Giants 7 21 0 10 Sunday Nov 9, 1980 Giants Stadium 1:00 p.m. EST Overcast; 44 F, wind 12 mph on Ben Dreith Frank Glieber and Roger Staubach CBS Week 11 Cardinals 14 7 0 0 Cowboys 7 10 7 7 Sunday Nov 16, 1980 Texas Stadium 2:00 p.m. EST 44 F, wind 18 mph on Frank Glieber and Roger Staubach CBS Week 12 Redskins 0 3 0 7 Cowboys 7 0 0 7 Sunday Nov 23, 1980 Texas Stadium 4:00 p.m. EST 47 F, wind 8 mph on Fred Silva Pat Summerall and Tom Brookshier CBS Week 13 Seahawks 0 0 0 7 Cowboys 9 21 0 21 Thursday Nov 27, 1980 Texas Stadium 4:00 p.m. EST 40 F, wind 14 mph on Pat Haggerty Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen NBC Week 14 Cowboys 7 9 3 0 Raiders 7 3 3 0 December 7 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California 1:00 p.m. 53,194 48 F, wind 8 mph on Jerry Markbreit CBS Pat Summerall and Tom Brookshier yes Q1 OAK Raymond Chester 6 yard pass from Jim Plunkett (Chris Bahr kick) OAK 7–0 Q1 DAL Tony Dorsett 20 yard rush (Rafael Septién kick) TIE 7–7 Q2 DAL Rafael Septién 52 yard field goal DAL 7–10 Q2 DAL Ron Springs 2 yard rush DAL 7–16 Q2 OAK Chris Bahr 22 yard field goal DAL 10–16 Q3 DAL Rafael Septién 34 yard field goal DAL 10–19 Q3 OAK Chris Bahr 38 yard field goal DAL 13–19 yes Week 15 Cowboys 0 0 0 14 Rams 7 21 10 0 Monday December 15, 1980 Anaheim Stadium, Anaheim, CA 9:00 p.m. 60 F, wind 5 mph on Gene Barth ABC Howard Cosell, Frank Gifford and Don Meredith Week 16 Eagles 0 0 10 17 Cowboys 7 14 7 7 December 21 Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas 3:00 p.m. 28 F, wind 9 mph on Dick Jorgensen Pat Summerall and Tom Brookshier CBS yes 1 DAL Danny White 1 yard run (Rafael Septién kick) Cowboys 7–0 2 DAL Tony Hill 36 yard pass from Danny White (Rafael Septién kick) Cowboys 14–0 2 DAL Preston Pearson 9 yard pass from Danny White (Rafael Septién kick) Cowboys 21–0 3 PHI Louie Giammona 1 yard run (Tony Franklin kick) Cowboys 21–7 3 DAL Drew Pearson 11 yard pass from Danny White (Rafael Septién kick) Cowboys 28–7 3 PHI Tony Franklin 29 yard field goal Cowboys 28–10 4 DAL Billy Joe DuPree 15 yard pass from Danny White (Rafael Septién kick) Cowboys 35–10 4 PHI Rodney Parker 30 yard pass from Ron Jaworski (Tony Franklin kick) Cowboys 35–17 4 PHI Tony Franklin 19 yard field goal Cowboys 35–20 4 PHI Wilbert Montgomery 6 yard run (Tony Franklin kick) Cowboys 35–27 yes Pro-Football-Reference.com Playoffs 1980–81 NFL playoffs Round Date Opponent Result Game Site Attendance Recap Wild Card December 28, 1980 Los Angeles Rams (5) W 34–13 Texas Stadium 64,533 Recap Divisional January 4, 1981 at Atlanta Falcons (1) W 30–27 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 60,022 Recap NFC Championship January 11, 1981 at Philadelphia Eagles (2) L 7–20 Veterans Stadium 70,696 Recap Wildcard Round Rams 6 7 0 0 Cowboys 3 10 14 7 December 28, 1980 Texas Stadium 1:30 p.m. EST 64,533 Sunny; 49 F Pat Haggerty Gary Bender and John Madden CBS Divisional Round Cowboys 3 7 0 20 Falcons 10 7 7 3 Sunday Jan 4, 1981 Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium 4:00 p.m. EST 60,022 Sunny; 40 F Fred Silva Vin Scully and George Allen CBS yes Q1 ATL Tim Mazzetti 38 yard field goal ATL 7–0 Q1 ATL Alfred Jenkins 60 yard pass from Steve Bartkowski (Tim Mazzetti kick) ATL 10-0 Q1 Dal Rafael Septién 38 yard field goal ATL 10-3 Q2 DAL Billy Joe DuPree 5 yard pass from Danny White (Rafael Septién kick) Tie 10-10 Q2 ATL Lynn Cain 1 yard rush (Tim Mazzetti kick) ATL 17-10 Q3 ATL William Andrews 12 yard pass from Steve Bartkowski (Tim Mazzetti kick) ATL 24-10 Q4 DAL Robert Newhouse 1 yard rush (Rafael Septién kick) ATL 24-17 Q4 ATL Tim Mazzetti 34 yard field goal ATL 27-17 Q4 DAL Drew Pearson 14 yard pass from Danny White (Rafael Septién kick) ATL 27-24 Q4 DAL Drew Pearson 23 yard pass from Danny White (Rafael Septién kick) DAL 30-27 yes Conference Championship Cowboys 0 7 0 0 Eagles 7 0 10 3 January 11, 1981 Veterans Stadium 12:30 p.m. EST 70,696 Sunny; 17 F Jerry Markbreit Pat Summerall and Tom Brookshier CBS yes Q1 PHI Montgomery 42 yard run (Franklin kick) PHI 7–0 Q2 DAL Dorsett 3 yard run (Septién kick) Tie 7–7 Q3 PHI Franklin 26 yard field goal PHI 10–7 Q3 PHI Harris 9 yard run (Franklin kick) PHI 17–7 Q4 PHI Franklin 20 yard field goal PHI 20–7 yes thumb|right|350px|Veterans Stadium during the 1980 NFC Championship Game against the Dallas Cowboys, January 11, 1981. Standings References Category:Dallas Cowboys seasons Dallas Cowboys Dallas